The Lady or the Tiger?
by ame-ryuu
Summary: AU.... Kikyou hold Inuyasha's fate in her hands. Will she give give him the lady, or send him to the tiger?


I am well aware that this had been done before, at least once. i'm doing it Inuyasha style. this is an AU.  
  
disclaimer~ I don't own Inuyasha, or the original Lady or the Tiger by Frank. R. Stockton. don't sue me.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Long ago in Feudal Japan, there was a fierce tribe called the Batsuro. Their warriors were many, and  
  
and none dared opposed them in battle.Their rule over the land was absolute, and their elders were greatly  
  
respected. Among the most honored was Lady Kaede, who resided as judge over all of the trials, be they  
  
trivial or severe. And it was she who had first thought up their slightly less than idealistic sense of   
  
justice.  
  
To be a village elder, one had to be wise, and though she was the wisest of them all, Lady Kaede was  
  
also the cruelest, and by far the most twisted. All of the tribe considered themselves better than those   
  
in the outside world, isolating themselves from them as black is from white, and they were set in their   
  
ways of life.  
  
Within the center off the village there was a great arena, much like that of the Colliseum in Rome.  
  
The villagers would come with a morbid curiousity to watch the trials over which Kaede presided. These   
  
trials ran as such; The perpetrator was brought in through a side door, next to which was a large podium.  
  
Upon the podium would sit Lady Kaede and her most trusted advisors. Across the arena were two doors. One  
  
door yielded a fierce tiger, starved and raving mad with hunger and the desire to slaughter it's prey. The  
  
other door, should it be opened, would reveal a beautiful woman of approximatly the same age as the man  
  
on trial. If the man chose that door, he and the woman were to be married on the spot. This was fair in  
  
the minds of the spectators, because to them you proclaimed your own innocence or guilt by which door you  
  
chose. Your fate was really decided by luck, pure and dumb as it may be.  
  
To continue about the warriors, the most skilled in the tribe was the grandaughter of none other   
  
than Lady Kaede herself, Kikyou. Considered to be the most beautiful woman in the village, the was hailed  
  
by the men as both a woman and a warrior. Spoiled to a fault, Kikyou was insistant upon getting her way at   
  
all costs. And why shouldn't she, after all, she was the grandaughter of Kaede. Why didn't she deserve the  
  
best? Unfortunatly, the best did not seem to be a village man. She would have no one of the village as her  
  
husband.  
  
Then one day, as though fate were intervening, five strangers were caught by Batsuro scouts just   
  
outside the village, and they were taken prisoner. Or perhaps there is a higher being ruling the world   
  
with an ironic sense of humor. Whatever the rhyme or reason, the travelers were brought before Lady Kaede.  
  
While Lady Kaede was talking almost pleasently to their visitors, Kikyou, who had taken up her usual  
  
position beside her grandmother, was looking them over. The first appeared to be a monk, he carried a   
  
brass staff that Kikyou had a hunch made an effective weapon, he said his name was Miroku. Next to him was  
  
a woman who had a terrifyingly large boomerang on her back. Her dark hair was long and her brown eyes took  
  
in her surroundings with practiced apprehension. Her name was Sango, a demon slayer. Beside her was   
  
another woman who had a bow and quiver of arrows. She too had black hair and brown eyes, she was called   
  
Kagome. On her shoulder perched a small child. He had reddish hair, and was obviously not the child on any   
  
of them, but clung to Kagome like a child to a mother.  
  
Kikyou's eyes came to rest upon him. He was different from the others. A sword hung at his side, and  
  
he gave off the impresive air of someone who knew how to use it. His hair was a startling silver, and his   
  
eyes amber. Kikyou found his eyes entrancing. They drew her to them, consumed her, knew her. In that very  
  
instant, she knew that she loved him. Kikyou loved the stranger called Inuyasha, and she was thrilled when  
  
Kaede deemed them no threat.  
  
Alas though, this love was one-sided. For it soon became obvious to all in the tribe that Inuyasha   
  
was in love with Kagome, and she with him. All others intending to make Inuyasha their's let them be, but  
  
Kikyou would not give up. What she wanted she would get, be it by consent, force, or trickery. After she  
  
realized she did not have Inuyasha's consent, and by law could not force him to love her in return, she   
  
resorted to trickery. That too backfired, in that after a failed attept at killing Kagome, Inuyasha   
  
shouted at her to leave them alone and to never come near Kagome again. That was an insult to her way of   
  
life, to her honor itself.  
  
Lady Kaede's hospitality proved short-lived after that. She seized Inuyasha and locked him away to   
  
await trial.  
  
Kagome fell into a state of despair. As a last hope, she went to Kaede and pleaded from her love's   
  
life. Kaede would not consent, but was willing to compromise. And so it came to pass that whatever   
  
Inuyasha's fate, Kagome would share it with him, be it life or death. If her chose the tiger, she would be  
  
brought out to face death with him rather than live without him. That was her wish.  
  
The day of the trail came slowly, yet all to quickly. The tribe gathered at the arena, a low murmer  
  
traveling throughout the crowd. It was not secret to them that behind one door was Kagome, and behind the   
  
other, the meanest, most bloodthirsty tiger ever captured, waiting for it's prey. Would fate smile or   
  
frown upon Inuyasha? Using her power as a respected warrior in the village, Kikyou had gained the   
  
knowledge of which door contained what verdict and she knew what Inuyasha's fate would be before he opened   
  
the door.  
  
The door on the side of the arena opened and Inuyasha emerged into the arena. He stood before the   
  
podium, his eyes boring into Kikyou's with an intensity hard enough to melt your soul. In her eyes, he  
  
could see that she knew which door held Kagome and which held the tiger.   
  
Kikyou didn't flinch under the gaze, but returned it. When she was sure no one was looking, she made  
  
a swift, almost unnoticeable gesture to the right. Inuyasha responded with a nod. He knew she held his   
  
fate in her hands. He also knew he had to trust her, and that she'd make the right decision.   
  
Silently the crowd watched him cross the arena. An eerie hush filled the air, as though if someone  
  
dared to breath, they might miss the moment the door opened. With a tension so thick you could cut it with  
  
a knife and serve it to the audience, they watched, waiting and calculating.  
  
Inuyasha stood before the door on the right. He reached slowly for the handle,pausing only a moment  
  
to consider, then opened it. A sliver of light shone through the crack to reveal...........  
  
~*~  
  
Now the question, dear readers, is this, "Did he choose the lady or the tiger?" That I cannot answer  
  
for you, because that requires a lengthy study of how a human's heart works. Consider that fact that   
  
Kikyou must have labored over her decision. Should she send her love to the tiger? Could she bear the  
  
sight of him being torn apart? Or would it be worse to see him in the arms of another, to know that he   
  
will never return her feelings? How many nights did she sob over the idea of loosing him to the teeth   
  
and claws of the tiger? How many times did tears spring to her eys at the thought of him holding Kagome,  
  
how many times did she wish that she and Kagome could just switch lives? If she couldn't have him, no one  
  
should! But it it worth watching him torn apart for the satisfaction of knowing he didn't belong to Kagome?  
  
Though made in an instant, how long did she ponder and wonder over her choice? Knowing that the images of  
  
his fate would forever haunt her memory, which would she deem more bearable?  
  
I warn you, do not take the decision of what lies beyond the door lightly, it is a thing to be carefully  
  
considered. Inuyasha's fate was sealed, but what was it? Even as the author, I cannot tell you what   
  
Inuyasha's fate was. I leave it to you. Which door did Kikyou send him to,  
  
The Lady, or the Tiger? 


End file.
